The commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL), Mark Cohon, was in Sackville last week as part of the Ron Joyce Centre Presents speaker series, speaking about how he has helped turn the CFL around since being named commissioner in 2007.

During his speech, delivered to a fairly crowded Brunton Auditorium, Cohon recounted some of the trials and tribulations he encountered in his early days as commissioner, which included in-fighting among the owners and teams close to bankruptcy. Mixing in personal stories and recollections, Cohon described the turnaround the league has experienced since then, and his role in getting things kickstarted. He also cracked jokes about his first CFL Draft as commissioner, as well as having Justin Bieber headline the halftime show of the 100th Grey Cup this past November.

“Being a fan myself growing up, and going to (Toronto) Argonaut games, I could definitely see it’s a fan-driven league,” Cohon said following his speech. “My first visit to Regina was amazing; just seeing the passion that the fans have there, and their receptiveness and willingness to interact.”

Cohon mentioned the new franchise in Ottawa several times during his speech, and said it was something he had on his agenda even before taking the job. “My first question was, how do we get back into our nation’s capital? It’s taken a while to get the stadium deal done with the city, but it has been resolved.” Ottawa will be fielding a team in 2014 for the first time since the Renegades folded after the 2005 season.

“Over the next few months we’re going to be pretty involved in the decision-making in terms of the logo and name; our league’s marketing people are working hand-in-hand with the team’s.”

With the third Touchdown Atlantic game in the past four seasons upcoming this September, Cohon says the conversation has been started towards getting a tenth franchise, but says it is still only a conversation at this point, and the right people have to be in place for a tenth team to arise once Ottawa’s new team is off the ground.

Using a couple of videos as evidence, Cohon explained how the 100th Grey Cup helped show off the league to the whole country, explaining how it was a culmination of the turnaround.

“We had to put everything in the window to understand and appreciate how much this sport means to the country,” said Cohon. “It really re-awakened the passion in Toronto and Southern Ontario.”

Cohon said afterwards that presenting the Grey Cup is his highlight every year. “I have to pinch myself and ask if it’s real every time I do it,” he smiled. “I have been lucky enough to be present for Anthony Calvillo’s passing yards record, Ben Cahoon’s receptions record, Geroy Simon’s receiving yards record; those are memorable moments.”

Another highlight for the commissioner is phoning the inductees to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame to inform them of their selection for induction. “Telling them they’re being inducted and hearing these tough warriors break down on the other end of the line…you’re a part of something that is historic and exciting.”

Cohon also answered questions as to how Canadian Interuniversity Sport is valuable to the CFL, and how the CFL can help promote those athletes. “Through things like the East-West Bowl, new regional Combines, and using the media exposure we have we’re helping build a profile.”

He described the growth of the CFL draft, for example, now an annual special on TSN, contrary to his first year, which “felt like something out of Wayne’s World” with its low budget and profile, and distribution on the web filmed in his Toronto office.

Using the term “aspirational” several times throughout his speech and his interview with The Argosy afterwards, Cohon said the important thing is being the best.

“Having the best players, the best product on the field, the best broadcast; it’s about getting young people to play or be a fan. Aspiration can be a powerful thing moving forward.”

Looking ahead, Cohon said the league is set for a very bright future over the next few years.

“With new stadiums opening in Winnipeg this year, Hamilton next year, and Ottawa coming back in 2014, there’s an unbelievable momentum,” said Cohon excitedly, also mentioning a new television deal extension with TSN starting in 2014. “It’s a great starting line for our next generation of fans of the CFL.”

– See more at: http://argosy.ca/article/mark-cohon-visits-mount-allison#sthash.2gJVX8Yf.dpuf

The spirit of a university campus stems from its varsity sports teams; at the centre of Mount Allison’s Athletics Department is Pierre Arsenault.

Director of Athletics and Recreation since 2009, Arsenault comes from a sports-heavy background, having worked for the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, Hockey Canada, and serving for seven years as Executive Director of NB Golf prior to being appointed to his current post at Mt. A.

“As AD I don’t really know what I’m going to spend the day doing,” says Arsenault. “Things pop up whether it’s a student-athlete struggling academically, an in-game incident, or equipment in our facilities.”

Arsenault says his main duty is working closely with the coaches and athletes to build competitive teams for the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and Atlantic Colleges Athletics Association (ACAA) seasons.

“My role is to help build an environment to let athletes and coaches do their jobs,” describes Arsenault. “We have good coaches in place, they will do their jobs. We have to provide a standard of quality and consistency of what it means to be a Mountie.”

Despite being new to Mt. A when he was hired nearly four years ago, Arsenault had some familiarity with Mountie sports from his student days at University of New Brunswick.

“I was a student at UNB from 1992-96, and I went to a lot of basketball and men’s hockey games,” Arsenault recalls. “But it would have been the fall of 1993 I started coming to watch the football games at Mt.A, and I remember gameday was such a big deal on campus. It captivated a big part of campus, and was a big part of the culture.”

“Now as AD I want that for all of our sports; we want to build that relevance and support for our teams, and make the sporting experience a part of the mainstream Mt.A experience.”

In the four years Arsenault has been at the helm, the Mounties have made incredible progress across the board. The varsity teams have found success on the field and ice and in the gym and pool, while the active lifestyle program, which was essentially created by Arsenault and his wife Karen, has leapt to new heights in terms of popularity.

One of the big developments in the past year is the growth of the concept of Mountie Pride, constantly tweeted by players, coaches, and Arsenault himself with the hashtag #MountiePride.

“The origins of that are pretty genuine, it sort of happened naturally,” Arsenault explains. “Using twitter as a communicator has been great. The emotions were there before, but it became something we could all put out there or grab onto. It’s a really great, pure representation of the power that lies within here.”

Citing some of the Mounties’ recent successes in his time, Arsenault says he takes great pride in the results of the teams. “Look at where we’ve come in last three years; teams who weren’t playoff teams are now, teams are in national rankings, AUS final games, winning ACAA champions; you couldn’t say that three years ago. We take a lot of pride in taking the next step, and it strengthens the notion we’re not done yet. There is real substance to be proud of here.”

Arsenault also commented on the family-like closeness of the sports teams, not just within their own roster but encompassing all athletes in the department.

“When I came here, it seemed like the right thing to say, throwing the word “family” around. It’s a very genuine thing here”

“Moments that stand out for me are the ones where you see everyone coming together as a Mountie family. Things like winning our Homecoming game, hockey playing in the championship game, the success of our swim team this year. Just seeing the different quality of student-athlete we’re attracting now. Anything where there is public verification of what we’re doing here has been most gratifying.”

Arsenault will be on hand at the Night of the Mounties tonight to formally recognize the outstanding team and individual accomplishments of the past year in sports.

– See more at: http://argosy.ca/article/better-know-mountie-athletic-director-pierre-arsenault#sthash.w5J74YQW.dpuf

Having made the decision to return for her fifth year of eligibility, Oickle had planned to only play the first semester of the season before graduating at Christmas. Along with the feeling of leaving her team hanging, a shoulder injury, which occurred in the fourth game of the regular season, helped to derail those plans.

“I decided to come back for the second semester simply because it was too hard to leave the team half way through,” says Oickle. “I also didn’t want to leave on a bad note considering I missed nine games before Christmas.”

The Moncton native has been an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) second-team all-star the past two seasons, and has been the team captain during that time as well, becoming only the second hockey Mountie to be a three-year captain.

“Three years of being captain is definitely an honour and I am so glad to have been a part of an excellent program,” Oickle says.

Majoring in Commerce (Marketing/Management) with a minor in Geography in progress, Oickle has scored thirty-three points including twenty-four goals in her Mountie career.
Oickle says the key to balancing her academics with her sport comes down to time management.

“I was fairly used to it (when I got here) because ever since I could remember I had one or two sports going on at a time,” Oickle recalls. “We rarely get weekends off during the season so for us Friday nights are about how much work we can get done instead of a night to relax. That comes with self-discipline and all athletes need to have it to be successful in their academics.”

A fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Oickle says the small atmosphere at Mt. A and in Sackville is beneficial to athletes competing here.

“The school is small so it’s awesome that a lot of the athletes know each other and support each other in their respective sports,” comments the team’s leading goal scorer this season. “Overall, Mt. A has a solid group of people all working together to accomplish the goal of being successful in academics and in athletics and that has been the most apparent thing in my five years here.”

Oickle also paid tribute to the large number of Sackville supporters who constantly show up in good numbers for Mountie sporting events.

The two-time team Most Valuable Player will end at least the home portion of her hockey career this weekend when the Mounties play host to the Subway AUS Womens’ Hockey Championships from Thursday to Sunday. While she recognizes it is bittersweet, she is excited about the opportunity to host the championships in her final season.

“It’s amazing for me as a graduating player to have the playoffs here on home ice. I think being comfortable and having everything right here at our convenience is what I will value most about playing in our home rink.”

Oickle and the Mounties take to the ice Thursday night at 6:00 pm against the St FX X-Women. A win would give the Mounties a day off before playing the UPEI Panthers on Saturday, while a loss would have the Mounties-Panthers matchup on Friday.